It started with a simple greeting. A Bengaluru-based professional, sharing his experiences on the city’s popular subreddit, recounted walking into office meetings that began with a polite “How’s your day?” in English. But within moments, the discussion would shift entirely into Hindi — rapid exchanges, jokes, and ideas bouncing around, leaving him lost in translation. As a Kannadiga, he found himself an outsider in a room full of colleagues who unknowingly created linguistic walls he couldn’t cross.
The Reddit user, going by the name EclipseVanquisher, detailed how this language barrier extended beyond just meetings. “Imagine walking into a meeting that starts with a polite ‘How’s your day?’ in English, only for the next 30 minutes to dissolve into rapid-fire Hindi. Jokes fly, ideas bounce, and you’re just…nodding. Not because you agree, but because you’re lost. You’re South Indian, Northeastern, or from a region where Hindi isn’t your mother tongue. You’ve tried learning it — really! — but fluency? The slang? The casual wit that makes everyone laugh? It’s like trying to catch smoke with your hands,” he wrote.
The feeling of exclusion wasn’t limited to language. The user shared how casual office culture also played a role in isolating him. Being a non-smoker and a teetotaller, he often found himself left out of informal networking spaces. “No Smoke? No Drink? No Seat at the Table,” he remarked. “Here’s the other ‘unofficial rulebook’: smoke breaks = networking gold. Every hour, the balcony fills with folks puffing away, discussing projects, venting about managers, or just…chatting. You don’t smoke? Congrats on the healthy lungs! Now enjoy staring at your screen while career-critical conversations happen without you.”
The isolation extended to office parties, where his decision not to drink marked him as an outsider. “And office parties? If you’re not clinking glasses, you’re a ghost. ‘Why aren’t you drinking?!’ becomes the anthem of the night. Decline politely, and suddenly, you’re the ‘boring one.’ The FOMO isn’t about the alcohol — it’s about the camaraderie that evaporates when you’re not ‘one of them.’”
His candid reflections struck a chord with many. Fellow Reddit users echoed his sentiments, sharing similar experiences of feeling culturally sidelined. One commenter noted, “Your point no. 1: I agree with you. Never seen a Hindi guy facing the same awkward situation in a Kannada majority group. I mostly noticed Kannada employees start speaking Hindi too to make their non-Kannadiga colleagues happier.”
Another user highlighted the importance of fostering an inclusive work environment, sharing their personal approach: “It’s difficult to find companies that are different because it’s quite team dependent as well. But such teams and companies do exist. I explicitly ensure my teams speak only in English when it’s anything related to work. I started my career with smaller startups and quickly realized that I would need to draw boundaries around these. I made my peace with the fact that I would miss out on discussions and also not get that much ‘face time with the boss’ etc. It’s been 7 years and it has luckily worked out for me. All my colleagues know and respect the fact that I don’t drink or smoke.”
This conversation sheds light on the subtle but significant ways workplace culture can become exclusionary, not through overt acts but through habits and social norms that many don’t even realize exist.